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By:

Naresh Kamath

5 November 2024 at 5:30:38 am

Indian Tourists Need a Reputation Reset

India has long taken pride in the philosophy of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ - the belief that guests deserve warmth, respect and dignity. It is an idea deeply woven into the country’s cultural imagination, often been projected as a defining Indian value. As millions of Indians travel overseas every year, the conduct of a small but highly visible section of Indian tourists is increasingly shaping how India itself is perceived abroad. The issue is not about a single incident or a handful of viral...

Indian Tourists Need a Reputation Reset

India has long taken pride in the philosophy of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ - the belief that guests deserve warmth, respect and dignity. It is an idea deeply woven into the country’s cultural imagination, often been projected as a defining Indian value. As millions of Indians travel overseas every year, the conduct of a small but highly visible section of Indian tourists is increasingly shaping how India itself is perceived abroad. The issue is not about a single incident or a handful of viral videos but a pattern that is drawing notice from hotels, tourism operators and local authorities across the world. The debate gained fresh momentum after reports emerged of a Swiss hotel issuing a notice specifically addressed to Indian guests. The advisory reportedly requested guests not to pack food from breakfast buffets for later consumption and reminded them to maintain silence in corridors and balconies. Hotels routinely issue guidelines. But when a particular nationality becomes the subject of a specific advisory, it inevitably raises larger questions about perception. “It is a sorry state of affairs. Indians, especially in groups, are displaying atrocious behaviour. This was anyway bound to happen,” says Subhash Motwani, founder of Namaste Tourism. Embarrassing Incidents Whether the notice was justified is another separate matter. The question is why such perceptions are emerging in the first place. Recent months have seen several incidents involving Indian tourists gain traction on social media. One widely circulated video showed travellers performing garba on an airport tarmac in Vietnam. Garba is among India’s most vibrant cultural traditions and a source of immense pride for millions. Yet airports are highly regulated spaces where safety protocols and discipline take precedence over celebration. The incident became symbolic of a larger problem. The rise of social media has encouraged some travellers to treat foreign destinations as stages for content creation. Public dancing, loud celebrations, disruptive behaviour and attention-seeking stunts may generate views and engagement online, but they can also leave lasting impressions on locals and fellow tourists. India is hardly the first country to confront such a challenge. During the 1950s and 1960s, American tourists acquired a reputation for arrogance abroad, giving rise to the phrase “Ugly American.” Britain spent decades dealing with the international embarrassment caused by football hooliganism. China faced similar concerns as outbound tourism surged during the early years of the twenty-first century. A nation’s image is shaped not just by its economic achievements and diplomatic influence but also by the behaviour of its citizens overseas. India today finds itself in a similar situation. Indian tourists are now among the most visible traveller groups across Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. This is, in many ways, a remarkable success story. However, with visibility comes responsibility. Hospitality professionals across destinations frequently point to recurring concerns. Excessive noise, queue-jumping, disregard for local regulations, overcrowding hotel rooms and attempts to bypass established rules through jugaad are among the complaints often cited. Collectively, repeated experiences can create lasting perceptions. The most revealing aspect of the debate is that Indian travellers often display exemplary discipline in countries known for strict law enforcement. In destinations such as Singapore, the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, compliance with rules is generally high. Complaints tend to emerge more frequently in places perceived as relaxed or lenient. That suggests the challenge is not one of awareness. Most travellers understand the rules perfectly well. The problem is often a mindset that rules can be negotiated when consequences appear unlikely. Changing that mindset is far more important than introducing additional regulations or issuing fresh advisories. Every interaction at an airport, hotel, restaurant, tourist attraction or public transport system contributes to how a country is viewed. These everyday encounters often shape perceptions more powerfully than government campaigns or tourism advertisements. As India stakes its claim to a larger role in the world, its citizens must recognise that national prestige is shaped not only by economic achievements and diplomatic successes, but also by everyday behaviour abroad. The overwhelming majority of Indian tourists travel responsibly and leave behind positive impressions. Their conduct rarely becomes news because courtesy seldom goes viral. Yet a handful of highly visible incidents can overshadow thousands of positive experiences. The challenge is to encourage responsible travel and a greater awareness that behaviour abroad carries consequences beyond the individual. The conduct of Indian citizens overseas should reflect the confidence and values of a nation seeking not merely recognition but enduring respect. (The writer is a senior journalist based in Mumbai. Views personal.)

The Intangible Value of Art

Updated: Jan 6, 2025

From the sublime to the ridiculous, the world of art beckons us to rediscover its beauty, meaning and relevance.

Value of Art

The India Art Fair will open in Delhi in February 2025. The Mumbai Art Fair celebrated its second year in November 2024. The first edition of the Bengal Biennale is currently happening in Kolkata and Santiniketan. The next Kochi Biennale has been announced for 2026. Major and not so major cities in India and around the world will host a slew of art biennales and festivals. There will be exhibitions and art openings, museum shows and talks, auctions and sales which will grab headlines. And through all the noise, the lay person, even one as astute as a reader of The Perfect Voice will shake their head and say, “I don’t understand art.” Equally likely to be heard on the other end of the spectrum is someone looking at an abstract painting and sneering, “My two-year-old could have done that.”


Between this befuddlement and disdain lies reality. Visual art is something we have all engaged with joyfully as children. Who among us has not doodled with a pencil or coloured inside the lines with a crayon or chalk? Or enjoyed illustrations in a picture book? As Picasso put it, “Every child is an artist; the problem is staying an artist when you grow up.” Somewhere along the way, innocent delight is replaced by the mystique and opacity of ‘Art’ with a capital A.


In this era of Chat GPT, a search for “What is art?” will lead to this succinct explanation: “Art is a form of human expression that uses various media to convey ideas, emotions, and beauty.” Further refinement will tell you that “Art is a visual object or experience that is intentionally created to express imagination or skill. It can be a physical medium, such as a painting or sculpture, or an experience.” The Greek philosopher Aristotle, wrote, “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” French Impressionist Edgar Degas said, “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” Arthur Schopenhauer, the 19th century “artist’s philosopher” advised, “Treat a work of art like a prince. Let it speak to you first.” But art historian Ananda Coomaraswamy stated, “Art is nothing tangible.” As you begin to groan, you may also find someone who tells you, “Art is anything you want it to be.”


None of these views adequately capture a field that is as vast as it is deep, spanning the range from the sublime to the ridiculous. Art is a profession like any other, with a language of its own. No artist functions in a vacuum; whether intentional or not, the work of the artist reflects the complexities and contradictions of his or her time in history. From Gandhara sculptures to Subodh Gupta’s sculptures with stainless steel kitchen utensils, from Pahari miniatures to V S Gaitonde’s non-objective colourscapes, from 8th century Indian stepwells to Frank Gehry’s Bilbao Guggenheim, the spectrum of what constitutes art continues pushing the boundaries of convention. It is the artist’s engagement with the intellectual discourse of a society which makes their creations relevant, rendering art and culture inseparable.


There is an entire ecosystem through which artwork filters to the connoisseur, the collector, and the general public. There are gallerists, dealers, critics, scholars, historians, curators and auctioneers. Behind the scenes are art material suppliers, framers, conservators and restorers. Like the fable of the elephant and the blind men, each has their own view of what Art is. This column will attempt to peel the onion, that is Art, through a series of articles that aim to demystify it so that you can appreciate, and perhaps even enjoy it once again - visually, aesthetically, technically, politically, intellectually, spiritually. It is, in that sense, whatever you want it to be.


At its most reductionist, art is paint on canvas, ink on paper, it can be made of clay or metal, stone or light. It can be a landscape, a portrait, a splotch of colour. Sometimes, it is nothing more than the emptiness contained within a potter’s creation and yet, art is much more than the sum of its parts. The late Akbar Padamsee, whose practice consisted largely of paintings, drawings, and some sculpture, said, “Art for me, is to express the invisible.” Shilpa Gupta, a contemporary multi-media artist, who uses video, lights, and rarely the more conventional paper and canvas, says her work is “a cross between intellectual and experiential” and her process involves “problem-solving towards reproducing an experience.” Vastly different visions with vastly varying languages which may or may not connect with a viewer. When you see a Raja Ravi Varma painting of Saraswati or a Jamini Roy work, you may feel reassured that it is something that makes sense, being rooted in known mythology and conventional notions of a formalist tradition. In every instance, when you are drawn to a work of art, it isn’t just the physical entity that pulls you in, it is, in the words of Leonardo da Vinci, the “man and the intention of his mind” which you seek. It is art that preserves the souls of civilizations. Ultimately, art is about connection and finding resonance with something bigger than yourself.


(The writer is an architect, author, editor, and artist. Her column meanders through the vibrant world of art, examining exhibitions, offering critiques, delving into theory and exploring everything in between and beyond.)

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